How Can The Flyers Improve?

Photo Credit: PhiladelphiaFlyers.NHL.com

This year I decided to keep count of how and where goals are being scored during Flyers games. I’m trying to find trends and see where the team could improve at or find areas the team is doing well at. Here’s a list of everything I’m keeping track of for goals this season:

• Goals off dump ins
• Goals off skate in zone entries
• Goals off face-offs
• Goals off the rush
• Goals off deflections
• Goals deflected off own team
• Goals off rebounds
• Goals that were either one timed / one touched or were controlled shots
• Location of where goals were scored
• Location of previous pass before a goal was scored

Here’s what I use to determine where on the ice goals and passes come from:

  The Flyers have had their ups and more recently their downs scoring goals as of late, whereas They’ve been pretty strong keeping the puck out of their own net in large part due to Hart and Jones. Let’s compare how the Flyers have scored their own goals and how they’re getting scored on through the first 13 games.

(Everything shown is at even strength only)

Goal styles

• Goals for – 24 – 26.38 expected goals

9 – 37.5% of goals have been scored off the rush

8 – 33.3 % of goals have been scored off cycles from dump ins

6 – 25% of goals have been scored off cycles from skating the puck into the zone

1 – 4.1% of goals have been scored off cycles from a face-off in the offensive zone

• Goals against – 22 – 31.98 expected goals against

11 – 50%% of goals have been scored off cycles from sliding the puck into the zone

5 – 22.7% of goals have been scored off the rush

4 – 18.1% of goals have been scored off cycles from dump ins

2 – 9% of goals have been scored off a cycles from a faceoff in the offensive zone

From a goal scoring perspective the Flyers obviously weren’t going to carry their pace from the first 5 games of the season, but in recent games they’ve completely crashed at both even strength and on the power play. In the beginning of the season the Flyers were scoring goals from off the rush, goals off dump-ins, and the team was riding off a few goal scoring streaks such as Atkinson’s. Cam Atkinson wasn’t going to score every single game he was expected to cool off but I think I found a possible reason why the teams rush and goals off dump-ins have stopped working. I’ve noticed a big uptick in turnovers from the Flyers defense and the team looks a lot slower exiting out of the zone and moving the puck up one. In the first 5 games of the season the Flyers defense averaged 20.8 breakouts per game, in the last 8 games they’ve averaged 17.8 breakouts per game, (breakouts are a tracked stat of mine measuring a defenseman’s puck moving ability). It might not entirely be the forwards fault for not scoring when the defense isn’t moving the puck up to the forwards quite as much as they once were.

To further this for rush goals in the first 5 games the Flyers defense was averaging 10.2 long pass breakouts per game, in the last 8 games they’ve averaged only 6. Possibly a reason for less rush goals is because the defense isn’t moving the puck out as well as they were before, or maybe the forwards aren’t exiting with as much speed to give their defense the chances to get the puck up ice, maybe it’s a combination of both. The Flyers are getting nearly doubled in terms of cycle goals from skate ins. I think being a heavy dump-in team has hurt the Flyers so far this season. It hasn’t resulted in goals as of late and I think they’re wasting a lot of their own possession by giving it to the other team. Over the last few games it hasn’t been used quite as much but it still seems like their go to. From what I’ve seen I’ve liked what I saw when the Flyers forwards try to use passes in the neutral zone and at the other teams blue line to get into the offensive zone, that‘s something I’d like to see them try more in the coming games.

As for goals against I’d like to go back to the teams transition game, as the defense has turned the puck over slightly more often as they were before it’s resulted in less possession time and more offensive chances for the opposition. Hart and Jones have bailed out the team multiple times this season which is great to see but overall the Flyers defense is giving up way too much and has to improve. They have to start winning their battles more often, start being stronger in front, and start being smarter with the puck if they don’t want their goalies to have to win them games so often. 

Now here’s the locations of where goals have been scored so far at even strength:

As I just mentioned previously I would like to see the Flyers be better and stronger at defending the front of the net. 36.3% of Flyers goals against this year have been from either rebounds in the low slot or controlled shots against in the low slot. As for when the Flyers are scoring they’ve been a little bit more spread out on the ice but favoring the right side of the ice more often. 

Some extra stats to finish up on

• Flyers goals:

Off of rebounds – 5

Deflected from Flyer player – 1

Deflected off other teams player – 2

From one timers / one touch shots – 17

From shots with controlled possession – 7

• Flyers goals against:

Off of rebounds – 5

Deflected off other teams player – 3

Deflected off Flyer player – 1

From one timers / one touch shots – 17

From shots with controlled possession – 5

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